Servicing/visual alterations on a lease
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 13
Likes: 1
From: Tampa
2015 C300
Servicing/visual alterations on a lease
Hey guys,
My previous lease (my first one) I purchased the prepaid package so I didn't worry about the services. This time I chose not to purchase the prepaid. The dealer is telling me that I have to have it serviced at a Mercedes Benz dealer. Don't get me wrong, I understand the cost comes with owning a MB but if I can save some money then why not?
So question is, can the services be done elsewhere without causing problems down the road at lease turn in?
Next question is what kind of cosmetic changes can I do to the car if any? I was thinking about doing the diamond style grill mesh that I noticed many of you have in the pictures thread. I was also thinking of maybe vinyl wrapping the mirrors and front and rear bumper diffusers (if that's the word I'm looking for).
My previous lease (my first one) I purchased the prepaid package so I didn't worry about the services. This time I chose not to purchase the prepaid. The dealer is telling me that I have to have it serviced at a Mercedes Benz dealer. Don't get me wrong, I understand the cost comes with owning a MB but if I can save some money then why not?
So question is, can the services be done elsewhere without causing problems down the road at lease turn in?
Next question is what kind of cosmetic changes can I do to the car if any? I was thinking about doing the diamond style grill mesh that I noticed many of you have in the pictures thread. I was also thinking of maybe vinyl wrapping the mirrors and front and rear bumper diffusers (if that's the word I'm looking for).
Member
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 88
Likes: 4
C450
Those damn stealerships.
Service wherever you want. Just keep the receipts to prove you did it when you're supposed to, that's all.
You can do the mods as long as they're reversible.
They could however deny warranty on say, the shocks if you lowered it. That's understandable though.
Service wherever you want. Just keep the receipts to prove you did it when you're supposed to, that's all.
You can do the mods as long as they're reversible.
They could however deny warranty on say, the shocks if you lowered it. That's understandable though.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 13
Likes: 1
From: Tampa
2015 C300
I figured as much... I know one thing they mentioned (on my first lease) was that the service indicator can only be reset by them lol. I know I pushed back on that one I just don't remember what their response was considering it was 3 years ago.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,653
Likes: 560
2016 C300
It's settled law, part of the Magnuson Moss act that governs the "lemon law". You can have your car serviced anywhere and not affect the factory warranty. Obviously the warranty would not apply to non OEM parts themselves, although those parts would have their own warranty.
Now if one of your non OEM parts leads to the failure of other parts, the manufacturers warranty may not apply. This is especially true of performance mods. If you do an ECU tune and the car throws a rod, you may be out of luck.
On a lease you would be responsible for having the car serviced and inspected according to the manufacturer's schedule. As mentioned previously, just keep receipts.
As far as mods, anything reversible is fine. The lease turn in inspection is focused on condition. They're not really comparing the car to its build sheet.
Of course, you don't need to do a lease turn in at all. Just trade the car before the lease terminates. The payoff is equal to the remaining monthly payments plus the residual. Our Audi A5 was worth a little more than the total of the remaining six lease payments plus residual so we traded it at Toyota for a new Scion for one of our kids.
Now if one of your non OEM parts leads to the failure of other parts, the manufacturers warranty may not apply. This is especially true of performance mods. If you do an ECU tune and the car throws a rod, you may be out of luck.
On a lease you would be responsible for having the car serviced and inspected according to the manufacturer's schedule. As mentioned previously, just keep receipts.
As far as mods, anything reversible is fine. The lease turn in inspection is focused on condition. They're not really comparing the car to its build sheet.
Of course, you don't need to do a lease turn in at all. Just trade the car before the lease terminates. The payoff is equal to the remaining monthly payments plus the residual. Our Audi A5 was worth a little more than the total of the remaining six lease payments plus residual so we traded it at Toyota for a new Scion for one of our kids.
Last edited by Mike5215; May 20, 2016 at 04:44 PM.
